Never A Firm Believer
by thegoatromantic
Summary: Harry absolutely does not believe in the concept of soulmates, but Luna insists that they're real. What are these two lovers going to do? HP/LL, Written for DramioneLurver's Reasons to get Married challenge.


Author's Note: ...-sigh- Okay, so this story was a bit more of a pain to write than I thought it would be. I've been on an awful writer's block binge lately, and it took all the strength I had to get this out. I'm thankful that I did though, because I think this pairing is amazing, and I just HAD to write a story with them in. Ooh, yeah, this story was written for DramioneLurver's Reasons to get Married challenge, and the reason I got for them to get married was that "they're soulmates", and so here they are, Harry Potter and Luna Lovegood: soulmates. Read, review, enjoy!

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**Never A Firm Believer**

Harry Potter/Luna Lovegood

By thegoatromantic

For DramioneLurver's Reasons to get Married Challenge

Harry had never been a firm believer in fate; he preferred to see things with his own two eyes rather than read them in the stars or at the bottom of a teacup. Life had taught him to trust nothing until he had been able to prove that it was real, and when Luna brought up the idea of soulmates with him, he had denounced it right away, not even for a second considering it might be true. Because there was just no way that it was.

"There's no way, Luna. None." Luna shook her head at Harry, disappointed that he didn't believe her. She pushed the cup toward him again, urging him to look at the bottom of it and see what she saw, but the boy did not budge. He simply would not look down into the cup and see what she did. This frustrated her, but she tried again, not knowing how to give up.

"It's fate, Harry, I'm telling you. We're soulmates, we've been destined to be together." Harry held his hands up in front of his chest and shook his head yet again. He did not believe in cup readings, and he had told this to Luna, but she insisted on trying to show him one anyway. He had told her it would not work, yet she demanded a chance to try.

"Luna, there's no such thing as "fate" or "soulmates". They're not real. What proof do you have?" Harry sighed and his eyes softened as he looked upon Luna. She sat rigidly in her chair, determined to make him see her point of view, but he just would not accept it. He reached his hands out toward her and clasped one of her small wrists with his large hand, and grabbed the small porcelain teacup that rested between them and placed in on the intricate white lace that covered the table. He slipped both of his hands into hers and she looked up at him. He smiled, hoping to lighten the mood, and slowly raised her hands to his lips to place a small kiss on the back of each of them. After giving love to each of her small, tender hands, he dropped the intertwined appendages back down onto his lap and stared into her eyes, silently pleading with her to drop her case. He loved her, but he could not take anymore talk of soulmates.

"You know it's true, Harry, just accept it." This time she mumbled it, as if hoping that he one last attempt would change his mind, and she looked away, not wanting to meet his gaze. Harry shook his head and sighed, still not willing to give in to her ridiculous ideas, and he gently rubbed circles on the backs of her hands.

"I'm willing to accept that I love you, Luna, but I don't think we're soulmates because soulmates don't exist." He squeezed her hands tightly and she looked up at him, able to see his love for her shining from his eyes. She sighed, then pulled one of her hands free and rested it on his cheek. She loved him dearly, but she wished that he was able to see truth and believe it. She had tried so many times to show him the truth, but for some reason he was being stubborn about it and would not relent on his opinion. She sighed, knowing that pushing it further today would do no good, and she took a deep breath.

"I guess I can accept that answer for now, but in time you'll see that we really are soulmates." She looked at him pityingly, as if he were blind to something obvious, then leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "I have to leave now, but I'll be back later. Keep my father company for a while, please." Harry nodded at the request, already looking forward to the time he would spend with the old man. It was in no way unusual of her to request such a thing of him, and neither was it unusual for Harry to be at her house with her father while she was away because, to put it simply, Mr. Xenophilius Lovegood adored Harry.

At first the elderly man had been wary of Harry, and completely unsure of how to deal with the boy. Luna had never been very close with anyone, much less boys, and when Harry showed up unannounced that first day, he had been worried that his daughter was being stalked by a lunatic. He reacted accordingly to the knock on the door by opening it a crack and then slamming it shut and running into another room. It was only once his daughter had crept quietly down the stairs and peeked out the window to identify the stranger that the man was placated enough to open the door for him again. He was still hesitant, and his daughter had to convince him over and over that Harry was not following her.

After the first meeting, Xenophilius was completely charmed by the boy was sad to see him leave. As he shut the door behind him, he turned to his daughter and smiled.

"That's a good man, Luna. I hope he comes around again." She had only smiled, her face glowing happily as she did so, and walked away from her father.

And so it happened that Xenophilius gradually fell into a father-son love with the young man. Whenever the boy would show up, Xenophilius would welcome him at the door with a big, hearty hug, and then he would pull him inside and share a small piece of news or gossip with him like he was part of the family and knew what was going on. He loved having Harry around, and even went so far to view him as a son. He often told his daughter this, and she always laughed at him, scolding him for having too big of an imagination. In truth, Luna was just embarrassed that her father was so attached to Harry. While talking to Harry one day, she shared the small piece of information with him and he was confused.

"It just means that he likes you, Harry. You're like a son to him." Harry was shocked at her words, but she continued to explain. "He likes you a lot Harry. You listen to him and you don't call him crazy."

Harry pursed him lips. "I guess that explains why he hugs me so often." He squirmed in his chair a little, still uncomfortable at the thought of the old man's strange hugs. Luna grabbed his hand and smiled.

"It's a good thing that he hugs you and gets along with you, trust me. He never shares any of his secrets with anyone he doesn't like a lot. Like his beliefs on the crumple-horned snorkacks." Harry chuckled, realizing more each time he was with her that he loved her quirkiness. Life was never dull with Luna around, but it was calm enough that he did not have to worry about his life being flipped upside down, and that was exactly what Harry wanted.

After the war Harry made the decision that he wanted a calm, quiet life with little to no action. He had tired of it by the time he grew old enough to be able to decide how his own life was going to go, and so he decided that he would marry someone quiet with whom he could live peacefully out in the countryside somewhere. When he thought about it recently, he always imagined Luna to be that girl, and he could not erase her from the picture without having to build a new, completely different one. He wanted Luna in his life, and there was nothing anyone could do to change it.

Harry watched as Luna picked up her strangely colored hat from the door and placed it gently on her head. The blonde hair surrounding her face crumpled beneath the confines of the hat and Harry smiled, loving the way it looked on her. When she grabbed the doorknob and disappeared through the door, he realized that was sad that she was leaving for a little while, but he knew that Xenophilius would be more than pleased that he was able to spend quality time with Harry. Luna was halfway down the path in front of her house when she turned and waved to him once and then continued her merry prance. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see Luna skipping through the flowers as she walked away and he held his breath suddenly, realizing that he had no clue where she was going.

Harry had no time to worry because Xenophilius placed his old, wrinkled hand on Harry's shoulder and smiled at him, also watching his daughter frolic happily. He was proud of his daughter. She had grown up without a mother but was still so kind and gentle that it was surprising. She had a big heart, and Xenophilius found himself immensely glad that she was sharing her heart with the boy sitting in front of him. He spoke quietly, not wanting to ruin the moment but still wanting to be heard.

"She's a wonderful girl, isn't she, Harry?"

Harry nodded, still staring out the window at the girl he loved. It made him feel light to watch her bounce around carelessly like she did, and he wanted to join her out in the fields and run with her through them forever. He felt like a normal boy when he was with her, and she made him feel whole. Harry looked up to her father and smiled.

"She's more than wonderful, sir." The man nodded at Harry and wrapped his arms around his neck in an light embrace. He stared down at the boy and their eyes met. Xenophilius's face grew serious.

"Take good care of her, Harry."

Harry's eyes widened. 'What do you mean? You don't plan on going anywhere, do you?"

He shook his head and smiled. "Oh no, there are too many interesting things happening around here for me to leave. I simply meant that I wanted you to take care of Luna when you two leave." He paused, then spoke again when the young man said nothing. "You do plan on marrying her, don't you? You are soulmates, you know, so it would naturally be the next step at this point." The elder man looked down at Harry, slightly surprised at his reaction. "Has Luna not explained it to you yet?" He had figured that his daughter would have mentioned it before, but from the boy's shocked expression, it seemed that she had not.

Harry shook his head and turned in his chair to face the man properly so he did not have to crane his neck. "No, she has. Many times. Why do you both say that her and I are soulmates? There's really no such thing." Xenophilius shook his head again and looked up toward the ceiling.

"Of course there is," he whispered, staring off into space as if he were thinking of something from long ago. His eyes flicked back to the boy's face and he smiled. "How can I prove it to you?" Harry shrugged, not having any idea since he did not believe in the concept. "Would you believe in a cup reading?" Harry vigorously shook his head and Xenophilius frowned. "How about star alignments?" Again, Harry shook his head.

"Sir, I really don't think there's any way that you can convince me that soulmates exist." His response was a waggled finger and the old man paced around the room a bit, deep in thought. The two sat in silence for a while before Xenophilius finally spoke again.

"What about that other girl? What was her name...Ginny?" Harry cringed, remembering how he had left Ginny suddenly. He felt guilty, but he did not feel bad enough to go back to her. He hadn't seen her since the day he had left, and so he had never been able to properly apologize to her.

Xenophilius noticed Harry's response and continued to speak. "You were close to marrying her. Almost did too, but you just couldn't bring yourself to go through with it. Want to know why? You weren't soulmates." The man winked at Harry, completely oblivious to the fact that he was being incredibly blunt. Harry sighed angrily at him and crossed his arms.

At this point, he was more than a little irked that everyone kept pushing the soulmates concept on him. He did not believe in it and it was only getting annoying to hear about it now. He was about to stand up but the old man held up his hands, stilling Harry where he was at. He pleaded for him to continue listening and Harry settled back into his chair reluctantly.

"Now just wait and listen to me, I know what I'm talking about. You and the Weasley girl were going to get married -you even gave her a ring-, but something stopped you two from ever finishing the union. It was fate stepping in." Harry shook his head, remembering what had happened.

It was a few days before they were supposed to get married and he had been thinking. Whenever he had been around Ginny, he was bored and he felt as if she was too. Their life had settled out so quickly and Ginny seemed as uninterested in him as he was in her. Eventually his thoughts evolved to the fact that he would never be able to spend the rest of his life with her, and he knew he could not marry her. It broke his heart, but he just couldn't imagine himself growing old and having children with her. He ended up having to call off their wedding and Ginny seemed enraged by the fact. He left as quickly as he could, not wanting to feel whatever wrath she would bring down on him.

Now a few years later, Harry thought to his new love, Luna, and he could feel his heart lifting. With Luna, he could imagine it all and beyond; it was like a bright lamp shone right through his mind and presented the rest of his life to him: he and Luna would marry, they'd have three children, two boys and one girl. Later in life they would have five grandchildren and a nice little home in the countryside. They would live and die together, he and Luna, and they would be happy throughout their entire life. Harry could feel his heart pulling at his chest, aching and reaching out for Luna. By an odd chance of fate, Harry looked up at Xenophilius and found that the man was smirking at him.

"What?" He asked, and Xenophilius chuckled at him.

"I was just watching your face." Harry reached up and touched his face, feeling for anything on it. "There's nothing on your face. I was only watching your expression change." Harry's hand fell and he looked around guiltily. Xenophilius nodded. "You can feel it, can't you? You can feel your heart tearing through your chest in search of Luna's." The young man looked up toward the elder and nodded solemnly. The graying man smiled and reached out his hands toward the other. "Don't worry, she'll be home soon."

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Luna stepped back quickly, almost falling down the stone stairs that led up to her house, and watched as her boyfriend hit the floor in front of her. He had a small teacup in his hand and he held it out to her, obviously wanting her to look inside of it. Harry nodded at her from behind it and she stood up on her tiptoes and glanced inside of it. She gasped, throwing her hands up to her mouth, and then looked back down at Harry. He was smiling like he had no worries in the world and it made Luna's heart soar to see him in such a free-spirited state of mind. Harry had finally figured it out and she put on a smile that rivaled his, happy that he finally believed her.

"I'll marry you, Harry, because we're soulmates." With a smile still on her face, she gripped his wrists and gently led her now-fiance up from his knees to a standing position. He frowned at her and let his hands slip slowly out of hers. A pained expression took over his face and he stared at Luna, dread creeping over his mind.

Was that the only reason she loved him? Because they were soulmates? "You don't love me?" He asked, his voice stuttering a little. He loved Luna, and he couldn't bring himself to believe that she didn't love him back. They had shared many enjoyable experiences together, and he could not for a second pretend that any of it was false. He knew she had been happy while she was with him, and he had been happy too. She wasn't making any sense, and he looked down at her, feeling as if his knees would give out and he would find himself back on the floor where he came from. He needed her to tell him that she loved him too.

"Well of course I love you, Harry, but we're soulmates, so I have to marry you. That's just how it goes." She rolled her eyes at him and slipped her arm through one of his. "How could you think that I don't love you? You're really silly sometimes, you know that?" She stretched her body and managed to kiss him lightly on the cheek as her father walked through the doors. She looked over at him, smiling, and then grabbed the teacup from Harry's hands to show her father. The ring clinked quietly in the cup as she waved it around.

"Harry proposed, isn't that exciting?" Xenophilius nodded, already knowing that the boy would. He had, after all, given him the ring that he gave Luna's mother long ago.

"So much for "I'll think about getting married in a couple of years", eh, Harry?" Harry laughed lightly and looked down at Luna. She looked so happy and he grinned, unable to hold back his smile.

"I can't live without her, sir. My heart told me so." He put his hand over his heart and smiled at his fiance. "I love her too much, and what's the difference if we get married now or in a few years?" He nodded his head slowly, knowing that none of it made sense, but knowing that it was all right. It felt right, and no matter how much he tried he couldn't make it not right in his mind. He wanted to marry Luna as soon as possible and begin working on their future.

"Hey, Luna, did you know we'll have three children?" She cocked her head at him.

"How do you know this?" She slipped her fingers through his and held his hand tightly, thinking for a moment, and then she spoke again. "Three is a good number. What will we name them?" He shrugged his shoulders and she bit her lip. "I'll have to start thinking of names then. Perhaps we can name one of them Hariolus."

Harry grimaced and rubbed Luna's arms hesitantly. "Well, Luna, we've got a lot of time, so let's not set our hearts on a name yet." Harry did not want his children to end up with the strange names that Luna was so apt at coming up with. He knew they'd have a hard enough time having Harry Potter as a father, and they didn't need the help of a name like "Hariolus" making things worse. Harry smiled down at Luna again and pulled her close to him. The smell of flowers tickled his nose and he hoped his children would enjoy running through the fields as much as their mother did. He couldn't wait for their new life to begin.


End file.
